Wednesday, 20 August 2014

We are very pleased to announce the details for the SACWG 2014 seminar (Student Assessment and Classification Working Group) – the event will take place on Thursday 27th November 2014 and will be entitled:

"Re-assessment: Principles vs Pragmatism"

The event will be held at the Enterprise Centre at the University of Derby and bookings can be made via the weblinkhttps://secure.worc.ac.uk/sacwg/. Please find attached the flier which gives more details – it should prove to be another interesting and illuminating event with useful discussions and we do hope that you will be able to join us.

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I am writing to invite you to attend the above seminar. I believe this is the first time I have contacted you. The Westminster Higher Education Forum is a division of Westminster Forum Projects, an impartial and cross-party organisation which has no policy agenda of its own. Forums operated by Westminster Forum Projects enjoy considerable support from within Parliament and Government.

Please note there is a charge for most delegates, although concessionary and complimentary places are available (subject to terms and conditions - see below).

This conference focuses on innovative approaches to curriculum design and delivery in Higher Education.

It comes as Higher Education providers face demand for more flexible modes of learning - in preparation for the removal of student number controls and as students call for greater value for money in light of higher tuition fees.

The agenda includes discussion on how to incorporate latestdevelopments in learning technologies into teaching and learning practice and new models of course delivery such as MOOCs.

The draft agenda is copied below my signature, and a regularly updated version is available to download here. The seminar is organised on the basis of strict impartiality by the Westminster Higher Education Forum.

Speakers

We are delighted to be able to include in this seminar a keynote address from: Professor Ron Barnett, Lead Consultant, Flexible pedagogies: preparing for the future, Higher Education Academy and Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, University of London.

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, Co-Chair, All-Party Parliamentary University Group and Lord Holmes of Richmond, Member,House of Lords Digital Skills Select Committee and Consultant, BPP Law School have kindly agreed to chair this seminar.

Networking

This seminar will present an opportunity to engage with key policymakers and other interested parties, and is CPD certified (more details). Places have been reserved by officials from the Competition and Markets Authority and Welsh Government. Also due to attend are representatives from Aga Khan University; Aston University; Birkbeck College; Bournemouth University; Canterbury Christ Church University; Cardiff Metropolitan University; Cardiff University; Chartered Society of Designers; City and Islington College; City College Norwich; College of Optometrists; Cranfield University; Durham University; Education Futures Collaboration; Falmouth University; Jay Consulting; Keele University; King’s College London; King’s College London, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery; Kingston University; Leeds Trinity University; Loughborough University; NACUE; Navitas UK; Newcastle College; Newcastle University; Nottingham Trent University; Oxford Brookes University; Plymouth College of Art; Regent’s University, London; School of Medical Education, King’s College, London; Shipley College; Southampton Solent University; Stockport College; Swansea University; The Open University; UCD; University of Chester; University of Chichester; University of Derby; University of Dundee; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Northampton; University of Portsmouth; University of Reading; University of Sheffield; University of South Wales; University of Southampton; University of Sunderland; University of Surrey and WMG.

Overall, we expect speakers and attendees to be a senior and informed group numbering around 120, including Members of both Houses of Parliament and officials from BIS and other Government departments and agencies, university and college leaders; academics and other higher education professionals; representatives from students’ unions; businesses and their advisors; interest groups and the voluntary sector; along with commentators and reporters from the national and trade press.

Output

A key output of the seminar will be a transcript of the proceedings, sent out around 10 working days after the event to all attendees and a wider group of Ministers and officials at BIS and other government departments and agencies affected by the issues; and Parliamentarians with a special interest in these areas. It will also be made available more widely. This document will include transcripts of all speeches and questions and answers sessions from the day, along with access to PowerPoint presentations, speakers’ biographies, an attendee list, an agenda, sponsor information, as well as any subsequent press coverage of the day and any articles or comment pieces submitted by delegates. It is made available subject to strict restrictions on public use, similar to those for Select Committee Uncorrected Evidence, and is intended to provide timely information for interested parties who are unable to attend on the day.

All delegates will receive complimentary PDF copies and are invited to contribute to the content.

Once submitted, this will be taken as a confirmed booking and will be subject to our terms and conditions below.

Please pay in advance by credit card on 01344 864796. If advance credit card payment is not possible, please let me know and we may be able to make other arrangements.

Options and charges are as follows:

Places at Innovative approaches to curriculum design and delivery in Higher Education(including refreshments and PDF copy of the transcripts) are £210 plus VAT;

Concessionary rate places for small charities, unfunded individuals and those in similar circumstances are £80 plus VAT. Please be sure to apply for this at the time of booking.

For those who cannot attend:

Copies of the briefing document, including full transcripts of all speeches and the questions and comments sessions and further articles from interested parties, will be available approximately 10 days after the event for £95 plus VAT;

Concessionary rate: £50plus VAT.

If you find the charge for places a barrier to attending, please let me know as concessionary and complimentary places are made available in certain circumstances (but do be advised that this typically applies to individual service users or carers or the like who are not supported by or part of an organisation, full-time students, people between jobs or who are fully retired with no paid work, and representatives of small charities - not businesses, individuals funded by an organisation, or larger charities/not-for-profit companies). Please note terms and conditions below (including cancellation charges).

I do hope that you will be able to join us for what promises to be a most useful morning, and look forward to hearing from you soon.

This email and any attached files are intended solely for the use of the entity or individual to whom they are addressed. Opinions or views are those of the individual sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent those of the Westminster Higher Education Forum. If you have received this email in error please notify info@forumsupport.co.uk.

FINANCIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS: The delegate fee includes copies of the presentations via PDF and refreshments. Cancellation policy is as follows: (1) cancellations 14 or more days before the event: £70+VAT cancellation fee per delegate; (2) cancellations less than 14 days before the event: no refunds. Cancellations must be notified in writing to the Westminster Higher Education Forum. No charge will be made for replacement delegates. Transfer of any confirmed booking between events is not possible. The organisers reserve the right to alter the programme and change the speakers without prior notice. The Westminster Higher Education Forum is unable to grant extended credit and therefore must request that full payment be made within 30 days from the date of invoice. Should payment not be received within 30 days from the date of invoice, the Westminster Higher Education Forum will apply an administration charge of £40+VAT, likewise for payments made to our account in error.

Westminster Higher Education Forum Keynote Seminar

Innovative approaches to curriculum design and delivery in Higher Education

Preparing for the future - conditioning flexibility in course design and delivery

Professor Ron Barnett, Lead Consultant, Flexible pedagogies: preparing for the future, Higher Education Academy and Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, University of London

Questions and comments from the floor

9.30 - 10.15

Institutional processes and the redesign and delivery of courses

What steps can be taken to simplify and coordinate universities’ internal processes, for example timetabling, department funding and decision-making procedures to enable more flexible and innovative course design? What impact will the growth in the number of alternative providers in Higher Education have on sector-wide moves towards more flexible course delivery? What are the structural challenges for delivering courses over non-traditional timeframes; how might e-learning help? How can HE providers act to minimise the wider cultural and organisational barriers to redesigning course and their delivery? In light of higher tuition fees and greater focus on employability, should Government encourage more universities offer two-year degrees; how could institutions prepare students and lecturers for these courses and how financially sustainable are these courses? How can best practice examples of flexible and out-of-hours student support be better shared across the HE sector; what lessons can be learned particularly from FE colleges?

Redesigning courses to respond to advances in technology and changing trends

What is the potential for technology to allow universities to provide more personalised learning pathways for students; what are the limitations and how should HE providers deal with challenges for implementation? What can be learned from successful examples of campus redesign to better integrate technology into course delivery and encourage the greater use of blended-learning? Is the focus on contact hours, highlighted in Key Information Sets (KIS), a disincentive to using forms of technology-enhanced learning that reduce the number of traditional lectures and seminars? How should course designers and deliverers respond to the trend for greater student collaborative working and the challenges this poses for assessmentand potential for plagiarism?

Lord Holmes of Richmond, Member,House of Lords Digital Skills Select Committee and Consultant, BPP Law School

11.30 - 12.10

Engaging employers in the design and delivery of courses

What can be done to encourage greater involvement from businesses to aid the design of courses to ensure graduates leave with the necessary skills required for employment, and how can institutions support those who would be involved in this process? How can universities ensure academics are aware of latest developments in their related industries so these can be reflected in course design? What can universities, industry bodies and Government do to encourage more employers to offer Year in Industry placements; will the new cap of £1,350 for ‘sandwich’ years encourage more students to undertake this option? How can sharing of best practice between academics and employers - and student feedback be encouraged and utilised to make work-based learning as effective as possible?

In what ways can universities involve students in course design, and what role could alumni play; how can best practice be shared across the sector? Do university structures allow course leaders to react quickly to student feedback and adjust the design of courses accordingly? Should more universities encourage students to work across course boundaries, for example different creative arts disciplines collaborating or business students working with science students, where does it work best and how could this be integrated into the curriculum across more subject areas? What are the benefits and challenges presented by the move towards greater internationalisation of course curricula; what lessons can be learned about curriculum design from other nations?

This international symposium, organised by the Society for Experimental Biology, will provide a forum for discussion and dissemination of current and emerging technologies, including MOOCs, VLEs, social media, citizen science apps and games, online marking, lecture recording, podcasts and other digital media, and how they are being used to communicate and teach science. The meeting will cover the practicalities of their use, but also question their validity and appropriateness in different contexts. Throughout, the symposium will consider how the impact of the new approaches can be evaluated.

Contributors (papers and posters) will have the opportunity to publish their work in a post-meeting journal special issue.

Please note that the programme, registration and venue details are on the left hand side of the main page. If you are not currently a member of SEB you can register at our discounted rate by joining at the time of registration.

Higher education and research activity have come to the forefront of international debates about economic growth. There has been a growing consensus among policy-makers that post-industrial society and a knowledge-based economy require more highly-educated people with technical and professional skills. This human capital oriented perspective applies to all levels of education but doctoral education has become of paramount significance in world where knowledge becomes the new 'fuel', the higher the knowledge the more refined the fuel and also the ultimate renewable to supporting robust economic growth.

This constitutes one dimension of well-being and the macro-level benefits might well trickle down to the individual level in terms of earning potential and career success. There are other dimensions of wellbeing, for instance: less tangible degrees of happiness or satisfaction in life; but also more tangible measures, of personal health (often linked to relative poverty, such as during periods of study variously, but also in a lifecourse perspective), and of development of attitudes and values, related in turn to dispositions independently of earning to engage in socially worthwhile activities and practices. Our keynote speakers address aspects of well-being in this context. Charikleia Tzanakou reports on a study of personal benefits as outcomes of studying for a doctorate. Elaine Walsh looks more closely into the process of doctoral study and how it interplays with indicators of wellbeing.

Dr Charikleia Tzanakou (ESRC Research Fellow, University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research)

The personal benefits of the PhD

The individual's investment in doctoral education is rather costly – in terms of paying fees, subsistence and foregone earnings – and lengthy. Considering that individuals might yield fewer returns to doctoral investment compared to those from a Master's degree in some subjects, and considering the increasing criticism that the doctorate has received by the media, my study highlights benefits that the doctoral experience brings about beyond financial and career returns for the PhD graduates. It is based on mixed methods research (online survey and follow up interviews) with Greek PhD graduates in natural sciences and engineering who undertook their PhD studies variously in UK and Greek universities 2-7 years ago. Data on the educational background, PhD experience, early career history and apparent benefits of studying for their PhD were collected through an online survey (N=244) and 26 semi-structured interviews with PhD graduates. The combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data allowed in-depth accounts of the benefits, as well as a general picture, of the PhD to emerge. The study showed differences in employment experiences between the UK educated and the Greek educated who were found working in Greece at the time of the online survey in terms of main sector of employment, job satisfaction, and their PhD being a formal requirement for their current employment. In less tangible terms, PhD holders identified further benefits of doctoral education beyond acquiring the specialised knowledge which affected their career advancement, namely their social status and their skills and personal development overall. Even in labour markets where investment in doctoral education might not be justified in terms of meeting individuals' career aspirations, there are other reasons that prospective PhD candidates should be aware of in choosing to pursue this higher level of education.

Elaine Walsh (Senior Lecturer and Head of Postgraduate Development, Imperial College London Graduate School)

Doctoral students' well-being: how to develop resilience

An on-line well-being assessment was developed for Imperial's PhD population, based upon a clinically approved methodology, and was administered in 2009 and then again in 2014. My presentation will look at what the results tell us about doctoral students' well-being and report on some of the changes over the 5 year interval. I am interested in ways to help researchers develop the necessary resilience to thrive in spite of the inevitable challenges of doing research and will be keen to share ideas with seminar participants. So this session will be partly research seminar but partly also participatory workshop to explore this issue.

The afternoon will end with open discussion drawing from both speakers' contributions and on the general question of well-being and the benefits of higher degree study.

Note: Unless otherwise stated SRHE events are free to members, there is a charge of £60 for non-members.

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